everything and nothing
by when-the-silence-ends
Summary: "An unlikely friendship is born during the short walk to the compound gate. One that has the ability to change everything and nothing at the same time." Or Naruto is the change the Uchiha clan needs but is found too late, but hope is not completely lost for last of the once great clan. part four of the road of life collection
1. part one

_here's the next update_

 _the next two chapters will be up n a few as well_

 _this hasn't been thoroughly edited and its three in the morning_

 _also sorry for the wait_ _i've literally been working nonstop and that a thing_

 _anyway_

 _basically enjoy pre and post uchiha massacre feels_

 _i'm an evil person_

* * *

everything and nothing

part one

* * *

" _Don't you understand that we need to be childish in order to understand? Only a child sees things with perfect clarity, because it hasn't developed all those filters which prevent us from seeing things that we don't expect to see."  
_ _ **Douglas Adams**_

* * *

Mikoto is pretty in the way his mother wasn't. Dark hair, pale skin, and smooth edges where his mother had hair of fire, wide smiles and rough edges. Naruto imagines his mother would have been warm were Mikoto is cold, and cold in the most ruthless way; like Naruto knows he is well hidden behind laughter and fake warmth. He thinks that together his mother and Mikoto would have been fire and ice. His mother would have thawed some of Mikoto's ice and Mikoto would have tamed some of his mother's flame.

Without his mother Mikoto is a much colder person. Like Kakashi, who drowned in guilt and grief without his dad. The loss of their precious people made them less and more than who they are.

He hasn't even spoken to her yet, but Naruto thinks he understands Mikoto well. His mother wrote a lot about her, probably more, because Naruto didn't read beyond the first couple entries in the journal. Still, from what he seen, when he's spotted her at the market, or coming from the building he knows is T&I, even when she was a face among a crowd of people learning the boy they hated was the son of the man they loved, Mikoto is someone he could understand.

It still takes him awhile to approach her. It's early morning, after a late night spent talking of the past. He knows about his father, more than he ever dreamed about, but not much about his mother. And he wants to know about her, because yes he's his father's son, but he'll always be more like his mother. No matter how much changes, that will always be the same. (He carried the name Uzumaki long before Namikaze).

He knows there is no one better to tell him about his mother than Mikoto. So Naruto finds the courage to meet her. The Uchiha compound his closed behind tall walls, they're new and it makes something uncomfortable settle in his stomach. There is something wrong here, but he's not sure what. He puts that thought away, he has other things to think about, more important things. He steps through the open gate into the compound, the clansmen who are patrolling stop him only after he's already passed the first building. There are two of them, one is tall and lean, his energy, his chakra, is restless and tangible in a way most Uchiha chakra isn't. The other Uchiha is younger, his chakra is calm and steady but full of a fire that says he's an Uchiha but different than the icy-hot chakra most Uchiha have. He knows their names and rank, what the BIngo Book has named them. Kakashi and Shikaku made sure he could recite every ninja in the BIngo Book and more after the first attempt on his life.

"Namikaze-Uzumaki-san," The one known as Shunshin no Shisui says oddly cheerful. "How may the Uchiha be of service to you?"

"I'm here to speak with Mikoto Uchiha, she knew my parents." Naruto explains, ignoring the nerves that are bubbling in his chest.

Itachi Uchiha, the prodigy of the Uchiha watches him in a eerily familiar way. After a short moment, he says quietly, "I'll take you to my mother."

It's a claim and a threat all in one. Itachi loves his family, Naruto can see that. So he just nods in response, to both the offer and the warning. The three of them come to an understanding quickly. Itachi turns his back on him and starts walking. Shisui walks close to him, while itachi leads. Neither treat him like a child like most people do, it's nice.

"I didn't know the Fourth Hokage was friends with Mikoto-san." Shisui says, prying for information.

Naruto knows information is dangerous, but he gives some anyway. People know he's Minato Namikaze's son, they know that his father married his mother, but they don't know his mother. The Third mentioned her, but her name was forgotten behind his father's. Naruto knows this was done on purpose, because his mother was hated outside of Konoha just as much as his father was. But, Naruto still carries his mother's name, and he won't hide that he's her son. Just as he wouldn't keep hiding that he was his father's. He never got to know his parents, but he won't hide from their legacy. Not now that he has the choice.

"Not my father." Naruto says, catching both Uchiha's attention. "My mother. Though my father was friends of sort with Fugaku-sama."

"Oh? How'd they meet. Your mother and Mikoto-san I mean?" Shisui asks, this time with genuine curiosity.

"I don't know. I do know they were on the same genin team. I have the photo."

Shisui hums in response. The rest of the walk through the compound is done in silence. When they arrived at Itachi's home the trio stopped next to the porch.

"Come on Naruto-san." Itachi said as he moved to knock on the front door.

A minute later the door was pushed open by a tall and stern looking man. He looked at Itachi, then Shisui before looking to Naruto.

"Fugaku-sama, I'm here to seek an audience with Mikoto-san." Naruto said quietly, nervous he wouldn't remember the proper etiquette when talking to the clan leader, even though Shikaku made him practice for weeks.

"I see. What do you wish to speak with my wife about?" Fugaku asked, crossing his arms, making him look bigger.

"She was close friends with my mother, Kushina Uzumaki, I wish to ask about her." Naruto explained, and after a second added. "You were friends with my father too. I'd like to hear about him from you too."

Fugaku after he was sure that the blond haired boy wasn't there as a spy for the Hokage led him inside. Itachi and Shisui followed.

"Mikoto, would you get some tea ready, we have a guest." Fugaku called out.

A second later there was the sound of running water from what Naruto assumed was the kitchen. Fugaku led them to a formal and traditional meeting room. As the four were about to sit a boy Naruto's age came running in.

"Nii-san! Nii-san!" The boy cried, a innocent smile on his face. "You're back! Why is Shisui-baka-"

"Sasuke, we have a guest." A quiet, yet firm voice said from behind the boy. "Hello Namikaze-Uzumaki-san."

"Hi." Naruto replied nervously.

Mikoto smiled slightly, and made her way into the room. She set a tray with a tea pot and cups on the table in the middle of the room before seating herself next to her husband. Itachi was sitting to her left, and Sasuke was quick to sit next to him. Shisui, who was also a guest in their home sat next to Naruto on the other side of the table.

"You came to hear about your parents?" Mikoto asked, though it wasn't said like a question. "I was much closer to Kushina than I was Minato-sama."

"That's okay. I've heard a little about my dad already," Naruto began, but paused to take the cup of tea Itachi held out to him. "But I haven't heard much about my mom. Beside the fact she is the last of her clan, I haven't been able to find much information on her. She had a few photos with you and you were mentioned in her journal so I thought you might be able to tell me about her."

"I can." Mikoto said, and seemed to be thinking of what to say next. "I'm afraid that I won't be able to tell you everything today though."

"That's okay, whatever you can tell me today will be enough." Naruto was quick to reassure.

Itachi, who was hoping that good relations between Naruto and the Uchiha would help with the village's distrust was quick to suggest they meet again.

"That's a good idea, why don't you meet me in Senju Park in two days around noon and we can talk more." Mikoto said, and smiled warmly at her oldest son. "You are the same age as my youngest, I'm sure you two will get along."

"Thank you." Naruto said quietly, blinking away tears. "This means a lot."

"Is there anything specific you want to know about Kushina?" Mikoto asked, hoping to prevent Naruto from crying.

"Uhm, what was she like? How did you two meet?"

"Kushina was one of a kind…"

The rest of the day Mikoto tells Naruto all about his mother. After the first few stories, Fugaku even tells one of his own, and then with a little prompting tells him a story about his father. When it's time for him to leave, Naruto is escorted to the gate of the compound by Itachi.

"I only knew your father as a ninja, but I respected him a lot. He was a man worth respecting, I think that you have the potential to be a lot like him." Itachi says after a few minutes of silence.

"Maybe." Naruto says, and watches Itachi intently for a second before saying. "But I think someone like you has more potential to be like my father; to be better than him."

There is much that both boys leave unsaid but somehow both understand what isn't spoken as easy as if it had been. An unlikely friendship is born during the short walk to the compound gate. One that has the ability to change everything and nothing at the same time.

* * *

" _Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years."  
_ _ **Richard Bach**_

* * *

 _the next part has more feels and stuff_


	2. part two

_this one hurt me to write_

 _i just love this friendship so much_

 _like it wasn't gonna be a thing but then it was_

 _and uhm good uchiha clan also is now a new heartbreaking thing for me_

 _i just cant_

 _enjoy_

* * *

everything and nothing

part two

* * *

 _One of the tasks of true friendship is to listen compassionately and creatively to the hidden silences. Often secrets are not revealed in words, they lie concealed in the silence between the words or in the depth of what is unsayable between two people.  
_ _ **John O'Donohue**_

* * *

He's in the market with Mikoto when he first notices it. The fear and the distrust. It's not aimed at Naruto, but it's something he lived with for six years. The looks are hidden, and if he weren't already familiar with them he might have never noticed them. In another life he wouldn't have. But he sees them now.

It makes something in him burn with rage. He can hear the whispers. ' _it's the uchiha matriarch' 'that's Namikaze-sama, is he safe with them?' 'didn't you hear? it was a Uchiha that killed the Fourth'_ The deeper he looks, the more he learns and it unsettles him. The same feeling he got weeks ago as he walked into the Uchiha clan compound is back and it's more intense. Something isn't right here. This hatred and distrust, it doesn't feel right. He's missing something big here.

His anger must show, because Mikoto grabs his hand tightly. "It's okay Naruto." She whispers, and lets go of his hand.

It's not okay.

* * *

Fugaku Uchiha isn't a cruel man, he's a cold man, but not cruel.

Naruto can see the good in Fugaku; he can see who he _really_ is. He's kind when he tells Naruto stories about his father, and about the past, he's loving when he brags about his sons to anyone who asks, and he's understanding when he helps Naruto out of a flashback. In those moment he becomes a different man, and Naruto can see who he is behind the coldness. So when one day Fugaku accompanies Sasuke to the docks so he can see his progress on a jutsu and returns only twenty minutes later with a hurt and angry Sasuke, he does not think bad of the man. Even when he hears the him call his youngest a disappointment, he does not judge.

There is more to it. Naruto knows this. He looks deeper, and what he finds breaks his heart. It isn't until later that her puts everything together and by then it's already too late.

* * *

Sasuke loves his brother.

There is no one that he looks up to more. It doesn't surprise Naruto that when Itachi joins ANBU that Sasuke pledges he will too. It also doesn't surprise Naruto that Sasuke doesn't like him. Itachi and Naruto are close, it makes Sasuke jealous. Even more so when Itachi gets busy and doesn't have a lot of time to spend with Sasuke because he's guarding Naruto. It doesn't help that the pressure on the Uchiha clan, from both it's elders and the village, has made Fugaku and Mikoto put more on Itachi and Sasuke. Pressure that the six almost seven year old has trouble bearing the weight of.

Sasuke doesn't want to disappoint his father, so he pushes himself past his limits. He's hurt himself doing a kunai and shuriken throwing exercise when Naruto and Itachi find him late one afternoon. Itachi had came to Naruto's home to ask for help in finding his brother, which Naruto knows he doesn't need, but he goes along anyway. The raven haired ninja already knows where Sasuke is, he just wants the company. When the pair find Sasuke, he's about to go through the exercise again. Itachi notices the swollen ankle immediately and rushes towards his brother. The boy is on his brother's back before he even knew he was there.

"Nii-san, did you see! I almost go it!" He exclaims, and wiggles around on Itachi's back. "Come on, put me down and let me show you!"

"Foolish little brother." Itachi mumbles, and starts walking towards his home.

Naruto can see how worried he is, but from Sasuke's expression he can't. The other boy looks like he is stuck between anger and shame. That when Naruto realizes that it's not his father's disappointment that Sasuke fears; it's Itachi's. He doesn't realize that no matter what Sasuke does or will do, will ever really disappoint Itachi, not after everything he will be responsible for.

Love will destroy these brothers; either in it's name, or because of it.

* * *

Itachi doesn't cry, or show his anger, he doesn't lash out, he just carries it all on his already overburdened shoulders. Naruto doesn't go right out and say, 'I know what's going on'. He doesn't have to, Itachi knows he knows. So when everything gets too much for the Uchiha, he talks to Naruto about a book he's read, about Sasuke, or he lets Naruto talk.

And sometimes, if that's not enough, they talk about peace and what it means. They talk about a dream, about a future they know will never be, because sometimes you have to hold onto hope even when you know it's already gone.

* * *

 _To perceive is to suffer.  
_ _ **Aristotle**_

* * *

 _next one is what inspired all of the uchiha feels and i honestly just cant_


	3. part three

_yeah so this hurt_

 _it's three in the morning and i just yeah_

 _enjoy_

* * *

everything and nothing

part three

* * *

" _Silence make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying, but the never needing to say that counts."  
_ _ **Margaret Lee Runbeck**_

* * *

Itachi doesn't go to Shisui's funeral, neither does Naruto. Instead they spend the day inside Naruto's home. They don't talk, not today. They just spend the day together, but separately. Itachi spends the day reading, finishing a few mission reports, and thinking while staring at cold tea. Naruto spends the day working on seals, reading his father's scrolls and looking over his academy textbooks.

The first time any one of them speaks is when Itachi is leaving. He stops at the door, his back to Naruto. The blond barely hears him when he speaks.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

The next time Naruto sees Itachi is the day before he starts at the academy. Naruto was laying under the big tree in his backyard when Itachi shunshined into the yard. After seeing Naruto sprawled under the tree, he joins him.

"Tomorrow. It's tomorrow." Itachi says quietly, as he leans against the tree.

Naruto doesn't know what exactly will happen to the Uchiha, and the village, but he knows it's something big, that it's happening tomorrow, and it involves Itachi. He knows that the outcome will destroy itachi, in the worst kind of way; it'll destroy his heart.

Naruto wishes he could help Itachi, wishes he could prevent this, wishes he could take away his pain. Itachi is too good to ruin himself like this. Naruto understands why Itachi can do it, because he loves the village the same way Itachi does.

He doesn't say this, he doesn't have to. Instead he says, "No matter what happens, no matter who you become, I'll always see you as you are right now."

* * *

Itachi woke him early the next morning. He stood at the end of Naruto's bed, holding something in his left hand. The blonde sat up, and pushed himself so he was sitting at the end of his bed.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asks, but he means 'is everything okay'.

"I wanted to say goodbye." Itachi says, and holds out the storage scroll. "And to stop this off."

Naruto takes it, and sets it in his lap. "What is it?"

"A promise."

Naruto ignored the ache in his chest and asked, "A promise?"

"You'll know." Itachi answers, his voice shakes.

Naruto swallows his own emotions, and meets Itachi's eyes. His voice is surprisingly steady when he says, "I'll keep him safe, protect him, make sure he's happy."

"I know." Itachi says, he's crying, and then he's gone.

* * *

The storage scroll contains a pair of matching swords. One katana, and one wakizashi. The handle on each blade is blue and white and both scabbards are black. Naruto thinks both swords are beautiful. Looking at them makes his heart ache and his eyes water, because he remembers telling Itachi weeks ago about his mother's sword style. Itachi remembered, and he gave Naruto these.

Itachi said they were a promise.

Naruto admires the blades, his heart in his throat. He unsheathed the wakizashi, admiring the blade, it isn't until he's resheathing the blade that he notices the kanji etched into it.

Hope.

His hand shook as he set the wakizashi down. They were still shaking as he unsheathed the katana. Like the wakizashi there is kanji etched into the blade.

Promise.

* * *

Naruto doesn't, _can't_ , show how he feels when his academy teacher tells the class that Itachi Uchiha murdered his entire clan except for Sasuke. He doesn't cry, doesn't he ask why, he doesn't feel indifferent like his classmates. He just aches, his scars burn, and his eyes itch. His body feels cold and numb, and he can't feel his heart beating. He wants to scream, wants to hurt someone or something, he wants to cry, but he can't do anything.

Not yet, he has to find Sasuke.

He has to keep his promise.

He can't fall apart, not now.

As soon as class is dismissed Naruto starts searching for Sasuke's chakra. He finds him sitting in front of Naruto's front door, staring up at the sky.

"Did you know? Did you know Ita- that he- was-"

"No." Naruto lied.

Sasuke looks at him, catches his gaze, then looks away.

"I- I don't know anyone else that knew him or my clan-" Sasuke pauses because he's crying to hard to be understood. "I don't want to be alone."

Naruto can't stop the tears, he _can't_. Not when he remembers the feel of Mikoto's hand in his, the sound of Fugaku's voice as he tells him stories of the past, the warmth of Shisui's hand as he ruffles his hair and the comfort of Itachi's presence.

"Inside." Naruto chokes out before a quiet sob.

He grabs Sasuke's hand and pulls him through the door, kicking it closed behind him. The both fall to the ground, their legs shaking to hard to support them. Sasuke is pressed against his side and is crying into his knees. Naruto tries to soothe him by running his hand through his hair, but he's crying as hard as Sasuke so he isn't sure how well that works. They end up curled into each other, seeking comfort in the only other person who understands.

* * *

 _The pain of being alone is completely out of this world, isn't it? I don't know why, but I understand your feelings so much, it actually hurts.  
_ _ **Masashi Kishimoto**_

* * *

 _not_ _sure what the next one will be. i haven't decided yet. may be more kakashi, may be ero-sennin_

 _feel free to tell me what you'd like next_

 _so yeah now i'm gonna sleep_


End file.
